


A Bite, A Kiss, A Chance You Cannot Miss

by Selenic



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Alternate Universe, First Kiss, Halloween, M/M, Vampires
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-02
Updated: 2016-04-02
Packaged: 2018-05-30 20:00:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6438271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Selenic/pseuds/Selenic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>On All Hallows' Eve, Rodney meets a cloaked figure in a dark alley...</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Bite, A Kiss, A Chance You Cannot Miss

**Author's Note:**

  * For [melagan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/melagan/gifts).



> This is so out of season, but I promised melagan a Halloween story some years back. Sorry it took so long but here it is, finished for your birthday. Happy Halloween ;) and a very Happy Birthday *BIRTHDAY HUGS* Hope you enjoy your this little treat.
> 
> Unbetad, all mistakes are mine!
> 
>  
> 
> [Crossposted on LJ](http://selenic76.livejournal.com/100404.html)

 

A Bite, A Kiss, A Chance You Cannot Miss

 

Rodney had no idea what he'd been thinking when he’d decided it would be good idea to take a shortcut through the dimly lit, narrow alleyway between two tall buildings. In addition to being barely wide enough to fit him, it was filthy, stinky, and longer than it had initially appeared. Of course it had to start raining too. Admittedly it was only a soft drizzle, more like a mist really, but just enough to make Rodney feel uncomfortably damp all over.

“I hate this stupid weather, stupid Halloween, stupid people in ridiculous outfits filling the streets,” he cursed out loud, the sound of his own irritated nagging doing nothing to soothe his mood. “And stupid me, for forgetting to buy the stupid cat litter. Some genius you are, McKay!” he spat out angrily. Going to the small 24/7 store once on a night like this had been agony enough; having to do it twice was torture. The cat better appreciate his efforts. Rodney tried to keep the paper bag under his coat—the last thing he needed would be for it to soak and tear.

Suddenly he began to feel like he was being watched. Rodney stopped in his tracks, taking a hurried look behind, but saw no-one. A whisper of something echoed off the walls.

Clutching the heavy bag to his chest, Rodney proceeded at a more brisk pace, hoping any ‘creatures of the night’ lurking in the shadows would let him pass unharmed. Not that he believed in any of that nonsense.

Just as he’d nearly reached the end of the alley, a dark silhouette suddenly appeared in front of him, almost as if it had formed out of the mist itself, which was of course totally impossible. A billowing black cloak shrouded what appeared to be a male human form, at least at first glance, Rodney didn't stick around for another.

Science being Rodney’s chosen profession and tool for explaining any phenomena, meant that he didn’t believe in magic, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t be scared of the unknown. So while Rodney did stop to consider the infeasibility of things appearing out of thing air, his less logic-driven systems had made up his mind for him, dropping the bag, turning Rodney on his heels and commanding him to run away from the perceived threat.

He managed a short spurt before another figure wearing the same kind of high-collared cloak poofed into existence ahead. _For a Halloween costume it looks pretty lame_ , Rodney couldn't stop himself from thinking while frantically coming to a halt. Unless it wasn't a costume but the official robes of say, uh, a member of some weird, obsessed cult. Not good, not good at all.

“Doctor Meredith Rodney McKay?” the shadowy form inquired in a low, oddly soft voice that did strange things to Rodney’s mind, the sound of it suggesting there was nothing to be afraid of. There wasn’t enough light to discern any facial features, but the person seemed to have dishevelled spiky hair, and slightly pointed ears. Rodney took a quick look over his shoulder, and surprisingly the other end of the alley was now empty.

Another turn, another spurt, and Rodney almost dared to hope he would get away. But in a flash another figure materialized, close enough for Rodney to almost run into him. Checking the alley behind him, Rodney saw no trace of the other assailant. Turning back to the one waiting for him, he noticed an uncanny resemblance. Had it been one person all along? Was that even possible? As far as Rodney knew, hand-held teleporters hadn't been invented yet—because if _he_ hadn't managed to build them, no-one could have. Nevertheless, outrunning the guy didn't seem to be an option.

“So,” Rodney said, out of breath, but presumably out of danger for the moment since who ever this man was he obviously could have already killed Rodney had he wanted to. ”Who or what exactly are you, and what do you want with me?” he asked between ragged breaths, leaning against the nearest wall. At least the rain had let up, but by now Rodney was soaked.

“Doctor Meredith Rodney McKay?” the question was repeated, the deep voice once again resonating with Rodney in a highly disturbing manner.

“Yes!” Rodney snapped irately. “I am Doctor Meredith Rodney McKay, Ph.D., Ph.D., and if you call me Meredith I am so going to punch you. Now can we _please_ stop playing games so I can get home soon and start treating the cold I’m very likely to catch standing out here, feeling wet and freezing and incredibly irritated, because some freak with apparent mystic powers that I don't even believe in and a very outdated style in clothing wants to have a chat with me!” By the end Rodney’s voice was a loud crescendo bouncing around the alley. In his view it always helped in situations like this to get angry instead of remaining scared.

The figure stepped closer, wrapped his fingers around Rodney’s arms and—

Suddenly they were standing in the gloom of Rodney’s living room, lit up by what little of the streetlights filtered in through the curtains. Even the abandoned bag of cat litter had somehow made the trip with them.

“How the hell do you keep doing that!” Rodney shouted, yanking himself free of the hold. 

“I'm not at liberty to tell you that yet,” the cloaked man responded, just as calmly as before. He took a step closer, Rodney retreated. "I need your help."

“And how in the hell did you know where I live?” The man's eyes seemed to glow in the dark, like a cat's. Speaking of which, Jones picked that exact time to emerge. Rodney felt a welcoming rub against his leg and heard Jones begin to purr.

“I've been watching you," the impossible man replied, and took another step closer. Rodney backed up but his legs hit the couch and he lost his balance and fell into it. Jones jumped into Rodney's lap and kept purring as if nothing was wrong—which was odd in itself, because usually he tried to scratch the eyes out of everyone else but Rodney.

“Why? For how long?” Rodney demanded to know, and wondered briefly why he wasn't panicking any more than he was. His heart was beating in his chest, yes, and he feared for his life, but his mind was still calm. Something about that voice...

“For some time now,” the uninvited guest replied, leaning closer to Rodney until his shimmering eyes were mere inches away, observing intently. “I needed to make sure you were the man I was seeking, Rodney.” The name rolled softly off the man's tongue, and Rodney was secretly pleased he'd picked the right name to use. "I need your help. But first, I need some of your blood."

_Oh god, he's going to—_

That's all Rodney had time to think before the man went for his throat.

He thought it would hurt more. Rodney only felt a sharp needle-like sting, not the kind of pain he'd expected from elongated incisors puncturing his skin. Then there was something soft and wet—the guy was tonguing his neck?

A hand reached out past Rodney, to turn on the light next to the couch. Then the man retreated, licking his lips and smirking, the bastard.

"Voice pattern and DNA are both a match, identity confirmed," he said, while his hands worked to open the cloak hiding his form. It soon fell to the floor with a silken sound.

And for the first time in his life, Rodney was left speechless. For a moment that seemed to go on forever he just stared a the half-naked figure in nothing but army boots and jeans, taking in the ebony dark hair that stood up in spikes and the pointed delicate ears, the pale, glittering skin that flowed over every perfect muscle and curve, the eyes that in the soft light seemed to shift between amber and emerald and shone like jewels from underneath long dark lashes. 

_And that inviting mouth, those slightly parted lips that were made to be kissed... Did I just think that?_ Rodney swallowed hard, feeling heat rice to his cheeks. _It must be some kind of effect he has on me..._

The stranger smiled, and realization finally hit like a ton of bricks.

_A vampire. I have a god damn ridiculous real life sparkling-like-a-Christmas-tree vampire in my house. And I feel like I want to get down on my knees and beg him to fuck me. I am doomed, so doomed, and I don't even believe in vampires, especially sparkly ones._

The vampire grinned, his teeth looking surprisingly normal to Rodney.

"Customized pheromone blocker synthesized, administering now," he said.

 _Now that's a weird thing for a vampire to say_ , Rodney thought through the pink haze filling his mind. Rodney stopped thinking completely when the gorgeous, mythical creature approached again and pressed that luscious mouth against his and Rodney helplessly yielded, letting the stranger in like it was the most natural thing in the world to do.

 _Weird, he tastes tingly..._ Rodney thought. Not to mention he was an incredible kisser—Rodney could have just melted into a puddle, apart from a certain region that was heading towards a more solid state, and he was pretty sure he was making embarrassing noises. That seemed to amuse the vampire, who certainly kept on going longer than it would take to make Rodney ingest the inhibiting agent that would...

Rodney snapped back to his senses, and in doing so inadvertently bit on a lip that wasn't his own.

"Ow!" the vamp—no that wasn't right—the weirdly shiny man exclaimed and staggered back up, wiping at the small trickle of blood. Then he smiled. "Guess I deserved that. Got a little carried away there."

Rodney's mind was on overdrive, analyzing everything that had happened. Piece by piece the puzzle ceased to be a pile of random shapes, and formed an image. Rodney didn't call himself a genius for nothing.

"Nanotechnology," Rodney gasped in awe.

"Got it in one," the man said, grinning widely as if pleased. That mouth of his seemed to do that a lot.

"Alien?" Rodney hazarded a guess. No chance in hell that level of technology could have originated from Earth.

"Depends on what you consider alien," the easily smiling mouth replied, the smirk matching the teasing look in those shining eyes, like the guy knew exactly how excited Rodney was by all this, and had been by that kiss. "Distant ancestors from another galaxy would be a closer description. We call them Ancients for short."

Rodney was starting to feel dizzy again. This time it wasn't because of chemicals, but due to his mind being overwhelmed by all the information. _Another galaxy? Ancestors?_ Meaning first of all that Earth had been settled by beings that had the capability to travel between galaxies, but also that Rodney's view of the world, of the universe, had been altered forever.

"Are _you_ alien?" Rodney asked, bewildered and thrilled at the same time, scanning the man from head to toe with a more scientific eye. If he made note of other things, such as how attractive the guy still looked even when Rodney wasn't high on pheromones anymore, who could have blamed him.

"Nope, all human," the object of scrutiny replied, allowing the inspection without apparently feeling any shame. Rodney could have sworn he flauntingly swayed his hips a bit as Rodney's gazed passed his groin. "Apart from the nanites of course. And I do have a name too, you know."

"I'm sure you do," Rodney said, far too busy figuring out what wonders of science hid beneath that glittering skin. He got up from the couch and went to touch it, first poking the man in the bare chest, then running an exploratory finger along a collarbone. The skin felt ever so slightly rough, like it consisted of tiny facets too small for the eye to see. 

"Radiation shielding?" Rodney enquired. That would explain the sparkles; his body must be coated with something reflective, and light was bouncing off of it. Rodney continued his investigation, slowly sliding his hand over a shoulder and down the arm, almost expecting a residue of glitter dust to accumulate on his fingers.

"It also doubles as camouflage. And it's broken, which is the reason I'm standing in the middle of your living room almost naked, and letting you put your hand on me without breaking your arm." It was polite as far as threats go, though Rodney sensed no real animosity behind it. Rodney still pulled his hand back, and looked up at the man's face again.

"Sorry for that. Scientific curiosity gets the better of me sometimes," Rodney said, trying to sound as sincerely apologetic as possible. "You mentioned you had a name?"

"John Sheppard, nice to meet you. And since we're saying sorry, I'd like to apologize for all the inconvenience, and the, uh, kissing part. It wasn't strictly necessary, but I kinda wanted to do that." John didn't look even slightly regretful as he said that. "Under other circumstances I wouldn't mind you touching me either, but I'm a little short on time."

Rodney blinked, momentarily stunned, and he was sure he was blushing too. Was the man actually flirting with him?

"Fine, I forgive you, let's move on to what you actually expect me to do," Rodney hurried to say, to change the subject, but his eyes wouldn't leave the sparkly skin alone. "And will you _please_ put that ridiculous cloak back on. Do you know how distracting you are?"

Judging by the smirk Rodney got as a response, John was highly aware of the fact. _Come on, admit it already, he's handsome, and you want to kiss and touch him again_ , an underused part of Rodney's brain commented. _He's not averse to the idea either, you heard him!_

"Shut up," Rodney hissed, and the handsome man—John Sheppard, Rodney reminded himself—raised an eyebrow at him. "Not you, I meant me," Rodney started to ramble. "My brain gets away from me sometimes. On second thought, let me get you a t-shirt, that thing must still be wet." Rodney suddenly remembered that his clothes weren't any drier either. "I'll better get changed too, would you excuse me for a moment?"

Rodney did a quick one-eighty and ran for his bedroom, storming in and closing the door firmly behind him. He leaned against it, taking a breath. A minute passed, and John didn't come after him, or suddenly warp into the room. Muttering curses at his inappropriately awoken libido, Rodney searched his drawers for a random shirt and returned to thrown it at John.

He found the guy sitting on the couch, with Jones in his lap, purring as John scratched him behind the ears. Jones _never_ let anyone but Rodney touch him, and Rodney was pretty sure cats didn't react to human pheromones. He stared at the hands petting Jones, idly wondering if they would touch him as gently. Then he remembered he was still wet and cold. Cursing more loudly, Rodney went back to the bedroom to look for clothes for himself. He heard a soft chuckle, and could imagine the smile that went with it.

 _This is just way too weird_. Rodney thought as he frantically scoured through his wardrobe. His brain still wasn't done processing all the facts, but now that Rodney had time to stop and think, things weren't just weird, but possibly dangerous. This man—John—had been stalking him for who knows how long, subjected Rodney to mind altering chemicals, and there was no way of telling if anything he'd said was even the truth. Maybe he was alien after all, or some kind of supervillain out to get Rodney and steal his brain.

Pulling clothes out of the drawers, Rodney went through his options. He didn’t own a gun, or even any sports paraphernalia that could be used as a weapon if the occasion called for it. So that left the kitchen knives. The odds were he was more likely hurt himself with those than anyone he pointed them at, so better rule those out too. Calling the cops wouldn’t help either, since John could vanish any time he wished. Rodney could attempt an escape via the fire escape ladder just outside the bedroom window, but John would probably just hunt him down again, so that was out of the question as well. 

Rodney still could have at least tried, even if he was more likely to fail than succeed. But he didn't, for several reasons.

For one, he couldn't turn down the opportunity to learn more about things he had seen and heard any more than he could have turned down a physics Nobel prize. Rodney also had to admit that he found John interesting, in more ways than one, and for what it was worth, Rodney also trusted his cat's instincts. Jones had never taken a liking to anyone; it was still a mystery why the ferocious ginger beast had followed Rodney home in the first place, or why he'd decided to stick around. 

His mind made up, Rodney finally stripped out of the wet clothes, and put on a warm, comfy hoodie and some sweats, and a thick pair of socks before heading back to the living room. He had, for a second, considered perhaps choosing a pair of jeans and a proper buttoned shirt, one of the nicer ones he had, but comfort won over in the end. Rodney hated feeling cold.

"I need you to fix the nanites, among other things," John said, still concentrating on the happy cat when Rodney returned. "I got hit by lightning during my entry, some of the systems shorted and I got a shock, and they got stuck in this mode. Lost most of my stuff during the crash, hence the clothes." John looked really good in the faded t-shirt, making him hardly any less distracting than before.

"So you aren't usually this... reflective?" Rodney asked, choosing a seat to the left of the couch, deciding to keep at least some distance between himself and the damned handsome nuisance. "And what do you mean by 'entry'?"

"Into Earth's atmosphere," John explained, looking up at Rodney and grinning, again, which inevitably led Rodney's gaze to his mouth. Rodney pushed aside the memory of what it had felt like to kiss it. It had been way too long since he'd been kissed like that, or to be honest, kissed at all, but Rodney wouldn't let that stand in the way of possible scientific breakthroughs. "With my spaceship. I was meant to just pick you up and bring you to Atlantis, but—" 

"Wait, _what_?" Rodney cut in. Just when he'd began to think the man wasn't completely insane. "While I'd be willing to accept the possibility of you actually having flown a spaceship, considering the level of technology you seem to be in possession of, do you honestly expect me to believe you are here to take me to the lost city of Atlantis? Next you'll be telling me it's not a myth, they just never found it on Earth because it's up in space. Is it hiding on the dark side of the moon perhaps?"

"He's never going to believe me without proof," John sighed quietly, shaking his head. "Requesting further instructions."

"And who do you keep talking to?" Rodney demanded to know. He saw no radio, no earpiece, but John had to be in communication with someone.

"Atlantis," John replied, still listening to something. His hands stopped their motion, and Jones stretched in his lap and meowed his irritation at the interruption.

"Of course, how did I not realize that," Rodney said, not bothering to hide the sarcasm in his voice. "Not only do you come from the lost city, but it's sentient too." Rodney knew it had all been too good to be true. He was probably still lying in that alley, hallucinating due to a hit to the head or loss of blood from being stabbed. Rodney groaned out loud.

"Yes," John replied while gently moving Jones to the side and rising up, but whether it was to Rodney or 'Atlantis' was unclear. "I need your computer." He headed straight for Rodney's study, and after a moment Rodney groaned again, got up, and followed him. If it turned out he really was going to die, at least he could see what else his fading mind could conjure up. With any luck, more kissing might be involved.

Rodney arrived in the room just in time to see John open the lid of Rodney's laptop and place a hand over it, and it turned on by itself. After a while images started appearing on the screen—schematics, mathematical formulas, and writing that looked seriously alien.

"This communication link won't hold for long, so we don't have much time," John explained. "I'm not exactly on a sanctioned mission, since you never chose to sign the nondisclosure forms, but Atlantis said she needs you, so I came."

"What nondisclosure forms? I've chosen not to sign many," Rodney said as he stared at the information flickering on the screen, recognizing some of it. "That's mine! From my theory considering the Einstein-Rosen bridge and its possible applications. You're not supposed to have access to that!"

"And you're not supposed to know about the nanite technology or Atlantis, so let's call it even," John replied. "Like I said, we don't have too much time. Tell me what you see."

John removed his hand, and the flow of information stopped. Rodney sat down and started to glance trough all the images and text files, one part of his brain taking it all in, while another tried to figure out how the nanites had converted everything into something his computer could understand, or how they had broken through Rodney's highly advanced encryption in the first place. The rest of his mind filled with new questions, and a few answers. He was curious, in awe, confused, but above all, thoroughly excited. This was way beyond his wildest scientific dreams. He could feel a grin like John's splitting his own face.

"I need to be on site to fix this, there's something wrong with the way the power is being transferred from this 'Zero Point Module' to the shield generators. I bet they've been working only intermittently, and by the looks of it you've only got hours, maybe half a day before they fail completely." Rodney turned to look at John, and the guy was grinning again, and it really shouldn't have made Rodney's heart skip a few beats like it did.

"Looks like she was right about you, Rodney," John said, slapping Rodney on the shoulder. "Rodney McKay, are you ready for a trip of a lifetime?"

John didn't wait for an answer before activating the transporter again, but Rodney didn't mind. It had probably been enough of an answer to see that big grin light up his face.

They came back for Jones later, much to the regret of many on Atlantis.

 

~~~

 

Epilogue

 

"Aaaand, there!" Rodney exclaimed happily, and lifted his gaze from the screen towards John who was sitting on the edge of the lab desk Rodney had been appointed to. His skin was glowing softly under the lights of Atlantis, less glittery here than it had been in Rodney's apartment. Rodney hit 'enter' to execute the code, and the glow vanished. John's eye's returned to more normal as well, though they retained their shifting colour. Rodney could see flashes of amber in the green as John stretched out his arms and inspected the results.

"Finally! I was getting really tired of all the Twilight jokes," John said as he hopped down from the table, another one of his trademark smiles spreading on his face. "Thanks, Rodney."

"Don't mention it, it was nothing," Rodney replied, with justified smugness. The nanites had been a simple problem, especially compared to the task of rushing to learn enough about Ancient tech to fix Atlantis before they all died. "On the other hand, you are free to mention as many times as you wish how I restored the power system to working order, stopped the city from falling like a rock and burning to a crisp in Earth's atmosphere, and as a result kept its existence a secret from the general populace, and saved everyone's asses."

Rodney felt no shame in boasting with his achievements, but he did feel oddly embarrassed at staring at John's real skin. It somehow looked more... naked. Rodney reached out to touch the inside of John's arm. It felt warm, smooth, human. He let his fingers linger a bit longer.

"Scientific curiosity?" John asked, and Rodney could hear the smirk in his voice, and looking up confirmed his suspicion. The smile reached up to those incredible eyes, and the sparkle in them had nothing to do with malfunctioning nanites. 

"Not really," Rodney replied, still too high on the combination of too little sleep and too much coffee to even think of what the hell he was getting into. "I just, kinda wanted to."

"Anything else you might want, Rodney?" John asked, his voice low and purring suggestively, making Rodney wonder if he was part cat and that's why Jones liked him, and to hope that he wouldn't fall asleep within the next, oh, few hours or so, because there were so many things he wanted to do with John before the caffeine wore off and he passed out.

"Lots of things," Rodney began, rising slowly from his seat to stand next to John. "Like learn how the hell Zelenka built that portable transporter, figure out how you communicate with Atlantis, get the ATA gene therapy and maybe a dose of those nifty nanites, fix the rest of the city so we can fly back to Pegasus galaxy..."

While he talked, Rodney let his fingers travel between John's wrist and the crook of his arm, enjoying the feel of his skin and the look John was giving him that promised to pick up from where they'd left of those long hours ago. It had been a long Halloween, but Rodney was finally in for a treat.

"You know you still haven't signed that nondisclosure agreement," John leaned to speak softly into his ear, licking the shell of it and sending shivers down Rodney's spine. His hands found their way to Rodney's waist, grabbing him and pulling him even closer to John.

"I will, soon, I promise," Rodney muttered as John moved down to gently nip and lick the spot on Rodney's neck he'd taken the blood sample from. There was no sting this time, but the effect was still sharp, now more with arousal than surprise. Rodney gasped, and John laughed softly into his skin.

"I'll hold you to that," John said, and pulled back just enough to move closer to Rodney's mouth. "'Cause they won't let you stay without signing," he murmured against Rodney's lips, "and I would _really_ like you to stay, Doctor Meredith Rodney McKay, Ph.D, Ph.D."

Pheromones or not, John's second kiss was infinitely better than the first one, not just because this time Rodney could properly feel and taste every delicious detail of his mouth, but because it led to a third kiss, a fourth, and so many more on their way to John's quarters and into his disastrously narrow bed. Life was about to get more dangerous for Rodney, but also a lot more interesting, and if Rodney had any say in the matter it would definitely include much more of John Sheppard.

 

~~~ End ~~~

 


End file.
